This week marks the 40th anniversary of The Population Institute. It is an honor to be serving as President of this organization, in addition to running Population Media Center.

Thanks to Mark O’Connor for this article by former Australian cabinet minister Barry Cohen.
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Unless I’ve been grievously misled, global warming/climate change is caused by the excessive amount of carbon emissions poured into the atmosphere. The major offenders are the developed countries, and the more affluent members of them in particular. Near the top of the list is our good selves with a footprint Ian Thorpe would envy.

And what, I hear you ask, has been Australia’s response? Well for starters, the government has ratified Kyoto; it is developing a carbon trading emissions scheme and is investing in a range of alternative energy proposals, including hybrid cars, solar energy, clean coal, wind and much more. Australia is taking global warming seriously. There are no sceptics or deniers in the Rudd government.

For full article, visit:
www.spectator.co.uk/australia/3078096

Thanks to Steve Kurtz for this article from The Nation of Kenya.
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The prospects for 10 million Kenyans don’t look good this year. That is the number of people the Government estimates face starvation.

Mozambique, too, is in similar dire straits. Looking at Kenya, and Africa in general, I feel that until governments take unpopular vote-losing decisions, millions will continue to starve to death.

Whenever mass hunger strikes, the starving usually move in search of food and will gather at a point where some NGO is distributing relief food.

For full article, visit:
http://www.nation.co.ke/oped/Opinion/-/440808/514652/-/428uha/-/

Thanks to Nadia Conners, producer of The 11th Hour, for this article.
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Half of the world’s population could face severe food shortages by the end of the century as rising temperatures take their toll on farmers’ crops, scientists have warned.

Harvests of staple food crops such as rice and maize could fall by between 20% and 40% as a result of higher temperatures during the growing season in the tropics and subtropics. Warmer temperatures in the region are also expected to increase the risk of drought, cutting crop losses further, according to a new study.

For full article, visit:
http://www.truthout.org/011109A

Thanks to Kathlene Carney for this article from the Sacramento Examiner.
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Can soap operas change the world?

They already are according to the Population Media Center (PMC) based in Shelburne, Vermont. Since 1998, PMC’s serialized radio and television dramas have been improving the health and well-being of audiences around the globe.

The shows use “entertainment education” strategies to influence social norms of the audience, much of which is from the global south. Characters evolve into role models who practice gender equity, safe sex and responsible family planning.

For full article, visit:
http://www.examiner.com

Thanks to Jane Roberts for this article.
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Following up on the theme of the United Nations Population Fund’s 2008 State of World Population: Reaching Common Ground: Culture, Gender and Human Rights, I have gathered these vignettes on Population, Reproductive Health, Gender and Culture in a ten day period:

GAZA: The UNFPA 2008 State of World Population report lends many paragraphs to reproductive health in conflict situations. Gaza is a perfect example of how women are particularly vulnerable.

For full article, visit:
http://www.maximsnews.com/news20090112janeroberts

The following editorial by Bob Walker was distributed to 800 newspapers and magazines by the Cagle Syndication Service.
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As Americans, we are obsessed with numbers, but often oblivious to their implications. We love record setting, whether it’s the eight Olympic gold medals won by Michael Phelps last year or the octuplets born last month to Nadya Suleman. We derive great vicarious pleasure from these super-human feats.

Technically, of course, Suleman’s achievement only ties the American record, as the first set of American octuplets was born about ten years ago in Texas, but she still became an overnight sensation.

For full article, visit:
http://www.caglecartoons.com/column

Thanks to Phil Kreitner for the article below from MSN Money.

The U.S. military report to which it refers can be downloaded from http://www.jfcom.mil/newslink/storyarchive/2008/JOE2008.pdf

Interestingly, the report is full of concern over population growth, but the news article fails to mention population in its coverage. You can send a letter to the editor of MSN Money pointing out that they left out one of the most important topics covered in the report. Send your comments to: investor@microsoft.com.
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Pakistan’s rapidly increasing population is placing severe strains on economic resources, development and security, say experts who are urgently calling for more effective family planning.

“The population challenge is the biggest threat facing Pakistan,” said Farid Midhet from the Safe Motherhood Pakistan Alliance. “Imagine a Pakistan with nearly 300 million people!”

For full article, visit:
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=82215

Thanks to Marian Starkey for this article.
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The phone rang at a call center in New Delhi one recent afternoon. When an agent picked up the receiver, a young woman whispered hesitantly. She said that she lived with her large extended family in a remote rural settlement and that nobody knew she was calling.

“I told her to be open and have no fear. She paused after every word,” recalled Payalkumari, 27, the call center agent, who uses only her first name. “Then she slowly opened up. She was newly married. She said her mother-in-law wanted her to have a child right away, but she was not ready to. She asked, ‘Is there some contraception that I can use secretly and nobody else will get to know in the family?’ ”

For full article, visit:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/articlel

Thanks to Steve Kurtz for this editorial by Frosty Wooldridge that appeared in the Denver Post.
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When you realize humans kill 100 million sharks in the planet’s oceans annually, you scratch your head in dismay, or, at least, consternation. Unknown to most humans, thousands of species suffer extinction at the hands of humanity annually. (Source: Life, August , 1991, “Sharks: Predator becomes prey” Fussman)

When you read startling headlines in the Denver Post announcing devastating drought, you scratch your mind further as to why humans steam forward as if they cannot be touched by nature’s vengeance. What do we possess in our arrogance as to denial of our own vulnerability in the scheme of life?

For full article, visit:
http://neighbors.denverpost.com/blog.php/2008/09/18/rescuing-earth-from-humans/